Mixed Cabbage Rice with Pork Belly, Dried Oyster and Chinese Mushroom

A much-loved family favourite, my mum often served this rice dish together with a pot of bitterguord or radish soup. This, for many years, has been my family's favourite dinner combination. A one pot/wok meal, you don't really need much condiments to this as the ingredients used are super flavoursome. For those who are not confident of cooking rice on a stove top, you can transfer all the ingredients into the rice cooker after frying them, adding the cabbage only when the rice is fully cooked.

Serves 2 - 3
Ingredients:

1 cup                          rice, rinsed and drained
1/2 head                     cabbage, rinsed and tore into bite sizes
1 slab                         pork belly, sliced
6                                dried Chinese mushroom, soaked and sliced thinly
2 tablespoons             dried shrimp, soaked in 1 cup of water
5 large                        dried oyster, soaked and chopped
3 cloves                      garlic, minced
3                                shallot, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon              cooking oil
1 tablespoon              dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon              ground white pepper

Method:

Heat a wok with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil on high heat. Drain the dried shrimp and add into the wok, setting aside the water for usage later.

Fry the dried shrimp until fragrant and add in the minced garlic and sliced shallots. Fry for another 2 minutes.

Add in the sliced pork belly, sliced Chinese mushroom and chopped dried oyster. Stir them on high heat until the pork belly is almost fully cooked.

Mix in 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon of ground white pepper and fry for another minute or until you can smell the caramelization of the soy sauce. Mix in the rice and fry for another minute.

Add in the water used for soaking the dried shrimp. Lower the heat to the lowest and cover the wok with a lid. Remove the lid after 5 minutes and place the cabbage on top of the rice.

Cover with lid for another 5 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked, adding more water if required.

Mix well and serve.

Tteokbokki (Korean Rice Cake)

I have been craving for some mean Tteokbokki (Korean rice cake) for a very long time. The last time I had a really good version was in a small family-run Korean restaurant located in a small dark alley in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. I seriously doubt I will be flying HK anytime soon so I've decided to make them on my own. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get hold of some Korean fish cake so I've made a vegetarian version instead. If you are lucky enough to get some, do add them in alongside the other ingredients.

Serves 2
Ingredients:

250g                                    rice cake, rinsed
2 cups                                 dashi stock (I used water with dashi stock flavouring)
1/2                                      yellow onion, sliced
1/2                                      carrot, sliced thinly
1 clove                                garlic, minced
1 tablespoon                        soy sauce
2 tablespoons                      Gochujang (red pepper paste)
2 tablespoons                      sugar
1/4                                      leek, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon                          roasted white or black sesame

Method:

Place 2 cups of dashi stock in a saucepan and bring to boil. Mix in 2 tablespoons of Gochujang, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 clove of minced garlic. Bring to boil for 5 minutes.

Add in the sliced onion, sliced carrot and rice cake and bring the heat down to low. Stir continuously until the sauce thicken and reduced.

Mix in the sliced leek and stir another minute. Serve with a teaspoon of roasted sesame seeds.

Stir Fried Garlic Sprouts with Dried Shrimp

Garlic sprouts are crunchy, super sweet and I especially love it when it's lightly stir-fried. In this recipe, I've added some dried shrimps that has been marinated in Chinese wine to give the dish that little extra oomph. The same recipe can also be used to fry long beans, french beans and even cabbages or asparagus, so do give it a try according to your liking.

Ingredients:
1 packet                      garlic sprouts, peeled and cut into 2-inches long
2 cloves                       garlic, minced
1 tablespoon                cooking oil
1 tablespoon                dried shrimp, soaked in water
1 tablespoon                Chinese wine such as hua tiao or shao xing
1 teaspoon                   chicken powder

Method:

Drain the dried shrimp from the water, reserving the water for later use.

Add 1 tablespoon of Chinese wine to the pre-soaked shrimp and set aside for 5 minutes.

Heat a wok or pan with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add in the pre-marinated dried shrimp and fry until fragrant. Add in the minced garlic and fry until it turns golden brown.

Mix in the garlic sprouts, 3 tablespoons of the shrimp water and 1 teaspoon of chicken powder. Mix evenly and cover with a lid.

Remove lid after 2 minutes, fry lightly and serve.

Black Pepper Beef with Bell Peppers

I love cooking with bell peppers. Not only are they crunchy and easy to cook, I also love the fact that they are loaded with tons of Vitamin C. A great way to cook bell peppers is of course the ever-popular black pepper beef. I am making the black pepper sauce from scratch in this recipe but an easy way to cook this dish is to use the bottled black pepper sauce available from Lee Kum Kee. Both tasted equally good so I will leave that to your preference.

Ingredients:
400g                  sliced beef fillet
1                        red bell pepper, sliced            
1                        green bell pepper, sliced
1                        yellow onion, sliced
2 cloves             garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon      ground black peppercorns (or black pepper)
1 tablespoon      cooking oil

Marinate:
1 tablespoons    light soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon  sugar
1/2 tablespoon  cooking oil
2 tablespoon     water
1 teaspoon        cornstarch
1 teaspoon        black pepper

Sauce:
1 tablespoon    light soy sauce
1 tablespoon    dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon       sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon    chicken powder
1 tablespoon    oyster sauce
2 tablespoons   water

Method:

Marinate the beef with the marinate ingredients above and keep in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

Mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Heat a wok with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add in the sliced garlic and fry till fragrant.

Add in the sliced onion and 1 tablespoon of ground black peppercorns. Fry for a minute and add in the beef slices.

Stir fry for a minute and add in the sliced bell peppers and sauce ingredients. Cook till the sauce reduces or thicken with cornstarch. Dish out and serve.

Happy Call Pan Recipe - Teriyaki Chicken

My mum wanted me to cook some chicken using the Happy Call Pan this evening and so I obliged with a Teriyaki chicken dish for her. I prefer to grill the chicken first before pouring in the sauce but you can always marinate the chicken in the sauce and cook it together if you wish. Easy and mess-free, she enjoyed this dish so much that she even asked for the recipe from me.

Ingredients:

1                     boneless chicken leg
1 teaspoon      salt
1/3 cup           rice wine
3 tablespoons  light soy sauce
3 tablespoons  mirin
2 tablespoon   sugar
2 tablespoon   water

Method:

Rub the chicken leg with salt all over and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Rinse the chicken using the rice wine.

In a bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 3 tablespoons of mirin, 2 tablespoon of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water.

Heat the happy call pan on a medium high heat for a minute. Place the chicken leg on the pan, skin side down. Close the pan and lock it.

Flip over after 4 minutes and pour in the sauce ingredients. Close the pan and lock it. (I open the pan a couple of times to ensure that the chicken is cooked in the sauce but that's up to you)

Flip the pan over after 2 minutes and cook for another 2 minutes. Dish up and serve with the remaining sauces in the pan.

Stir Fried Dou Miao

I'm an aficionado of super easy recipes and this dish is no exception as well. 4 ingredients and 3 minutes is all you need. Seriously. Set your timer and give it a try if you must!

Ingredients:
1 packet                  dou miao, rinsed
2 cloves                   garlic, minced
1 tablespoon            cooking oil
1 teaspoon               chicken powder

Method:

Heat a wok with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add in the garlic and fry till fragrant.

Add in the rinsed dou miao and 1 teaspoon of chicken powder and fry for one and a half minute on high heat.

Dish out and serve.

Broccoli Spaghetti with Anchovies

As uninteresting as this may seem but trust me, it is so delicious that I cook this more often than the other pasta dishes. Then again, it may also be due to the fact that I am seriously lacking of vegetables in my diet or clearing up the fridge of my leftover broccoli.Whichever the case, I am pretty certain that you will be equally hooked as well. Enjoy the greens!

Serves 2
Ingredients:
1/2 packet                     dried spaghetti
2 cloves                         garlic, minced
1 head                           broccoli, broken into florets
1/2 tablespoon               butter
1/2 teaspoon                  dried red pepper flakes
1/2 tablespoon               olive oil
4 fillets                           canned anchovies
                                      parmesan cheese


Method:

Cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water according to packet instruction. Add the broccoli into the pasta water one minute before the pasta is cooked. Drain both and set aside.

Heat a saucepan with 1/2 tablespoon of butter and 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. Add in the anchovies and stir until the anchovies have melted.

Add in 1/2 teaspoon of dried red pepper flakes and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Fry until the garlic are golden brown in colour.

Switch off the heat. Add in the cooked pasta and broccoli and mix well. Add in some pasta water to loosen the pasta if required. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top and serve.

Stir Fried Broccoli with Shrimp

I NEED vegetables on my table. Be it a simple plate of poached kailan or some easy stir fried bean sprouts, I'm easy to please. One of my favourite vegetable dish is stir fried broccoli and I personally think that shrimps / prawns make a perfect combination with its vibrant pink colour and fresh seafood taste.

Ingredients:
1 head                 broccoli, cut into florets
1 clove                garlic, minced
8 small                shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon       cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon       chicken powder
2 tablespoons      water

Method:

Heat a wok with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add in 1 clove of minced garlic and fry till fragrant.

Add the shrimps and stir fry another half a minute.

Mix in the broccoli with 2 tablespoons of water. Cover the wok for about a minute.

Remove the cover and stir in 1/2 teaspoon of chicken powder. Mix evenly and serve.